All posts by Polson UMC

United Methodist Women

United Methodist Women is the largest denominational faith organization for women with approximately 800,000 members whose mission is fostering spiritual growth, developing leaders and advocating for justice. Members raise up to $20 million each year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world. Our local women’s organization has met in some form or another since the church’s inception in 1909. UMW meets the second Thursday of each month (except in the summer).

For more information, contact Monica Mills – 883.3655

The United Methodist Women meet the second Thursday

of each month at 12:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall.

 

Is Mission an Event or a Way of Life

 ~ MISSION ~

IS IT AN EVENT………OR A WAY OF LIFE?

Often when we think of engaging in mission we view it as a one time event. We set a planning meeting, assign tasks and when the day comes we all pitch in to help. We then put everything away and go home. Now we can check mission off our list.

What if there is a different way to view mission.  What if engaging in mission is engaging in a way of life.  A way that not only transforms the lives of those we are helping but also as a transformation of ourselves. What if, on a daily basis, we find a way to engage in helping people, just as the good Samaritan did in the story told in Luke 10.  What if we integrate this spirit of love into everything we do?

With so many areas of need, it can be difficult to know where to put your attention.  Do you ever have trouble with this?  I know I do.  I was recently listening to an interview by the creator of a film about poverty in Africa.

He discovered his mission by asking himself two questions:

First: “What is something that breaks my heart?”

Is it images of children starving in South America …. the enslavement of young girls for sex trafficking ….. the widespread effect of Aids in Africa.

Then he asked:   “What is something I love to do?” 

Maybe it is cooking, writing,  videography.   Now, find a creative way to put these two things together.This can help guide a way of life in mission and love.

Choir


We have a small choir with approximately fifteen members who love to sing.  Some of us are musically educated, and some are not. We laugh a lot and enjoy our time together. Rehearsals are Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. starting  September 3, 2014. 

We are always looking for new members to join us…..the only requirement is a love for music and singing. For more information, contact the church office – 883.6161

Care Teams

 We have several care teams that work together to share in the following areas:

  • Mutual Care Giving,
  • Church Related Work Projects,
  • Mission Projects,
  • Social Gatherings,
  • Worship Greeting/Ushering/Liturgist,
  • Sunday Fellowship Time & Recycling

100th Anniversary Celebration

In the fall of 2009, the First United Methodist Church of Polson celebrated 100 years of mission and ministry in this valley…

below, are some documents from that celebration.

Video Share….

A glimpse of Polson in the early years…

An overview of church history…

Construction of the First Church Building

Building the Church

The plans for a church building were set in motion at a meeting of the trustees on September 21, 1909.  Bids were let for an adequate structure, and on the 30th day of November, 1909, the following contract was signed:
“We the undersigned agree to furnish and build church as per plans and specifications drawn by M.B. Rife of Kalispell for $244.00 in addition to the former figure of $1,660.00 making a total of $1,904.00.”  (signed) Louis Bailey, J.E. Hern

The cornerstone for the church was laid on October 17, 1909.  The first pastor left in November of that year and the building operations were overseen by the trustees.

In May, 1910, another White appeared on the scene – the Rev. Edgar L. White came to serve the young Polson congregation.  He applied his unusual talents to pushing through the church project, and under his leadership, the church was completed and ready for dedication on July 5, 1910, the day after a gala Fourth of July celebration in the little town at the south end of Flathead Lake.

The church was well furnished on the inside for the occasion, including a pulpit donated by Montgomery Ward & Co., and Epworth Pipetone Euphonic oak-finished organ, new pews, chairs, and light fixtures.  This brought the total cost of the new structure to approximately $3,500.

Even boat service was provided on the day of dedication.  R. P. Smith preached the dedication sermon and $2,200 was subscribed – a remarkable achievement in those days.  Over 700 Indians were in town that summer day nearly 50 years ago, more than the number of whites, and the very air was ozonic with optimism.

The original church still stands and it now forms the south part of today’s building, where the sanctuary is located.  At that time, however, the sanctuary faced east instead of north, and the present sanctuary addition was used as a Sunday School room.

The first baptisms in the Polson congregation were on January 6, 1910, when Forrest and Carl Retz received Christian baptism from the Rev. O. A. White.  Four months earlier, in September of 1909, the Rev. H. H. Twyford held the first funeral.  The Rev. E. L. White performed the first Methodist wedding on August 2, 1910.

The Rev. A. D. Welch became pastor in the late summer of 1910.  Immediately they went to work on a parsonage and under his guidance, it was completed within a year.

Before the year 1910 went into the history books, a Ladies Aid Society, now called the Women’s Society of Christian Service, was well started with Mrs. Azora Mizell as the first president.  An Epworth League for youth, the forerunner of the present Methodist Youth Fellowship, also became active in this period.  Miss Jennie Norris was its first president.

Under the capable lay leadership of William E. Redd and his sisters, work was started in Valley View.  There was a Sunday School, church services and a Ladies Aid Society.  The latter was disbanded in 1913 and the others followed in later years as they were absorbed into the town church.  The Valley View Methodists were a great help to the young church.

First Protestant Church on Reservation

The Flathead Reservation was opened to settlement in 1910. The Rev. O. A. White, Superintendent of the Kalispell District, visited the little town of Polson on April 1, 1909, to discuss the possibility of establishing a church. Rev. White found that there were more Methodists in town than all the other Protestants combined. A Sunday School was organized immediately and met in the old Mansur Building
on Main Street.

The first pastor, the Rev. H. H. Twyford, arrived on September 1, 1909, and lived in a tent as did many of
the townspeople of that day. Two lots on which the church and parsonage now stand were purchased costing $600. The church was incorporated on October 16, 1909, and the official name would be “The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Polson.” Thus, our church became the first, and now the oldest, Protestant church on the Reservation.

The church was dedicated on July 5, 1910. The total cost of the building and furnishings was $3,500, $2,200 of which was pledged at the Dedication service, a remarkable sum for those days. The original church still stands, as it now forms the south part of today’s building where the sanctuary is located.

In 1911, the little church undertook to host the North Montana Annual Conference. The more than 75 delegates were housed in local homes and Conference headquarters were in the church and the Lake Hotel. The Sunday morning speaker was William Wesley Van Orsdel, known and loved throughout Montana as “Brother Van.”

By the middle of 1912, after three struggling but thrilling years, the Methodist Episcopal Church of Polson was on solid footing. The books indicate 84 members pioneered as Methodists in Polson.

In 1946, the name of the church was changed to “The First Methodist Church of Polson” when all Methodists of North America merged into one. In 1947, the Annex was finished and the sanctuary remodeled. In 1968, the name was changed again to “The First United Methodist Church” with the merger of the Methodist and the Evangelical United Brethren. The sanctuary was remodeled again in 1978.

Our congregation is moving ahead with renewed vigor and Christian commitment. We are a loving and caring congregation. Years ahead look bright and promising and with our Lord aiding us as in the past, we will continue to be an example of Christian love in our community.

The Polson Methodist Story

The Methodist Story – 1909-1911

Polson, Montana

Compiled  by   Bernice K. Apple

The attached story was compiled by Bernice K. Apple from the issues of  Polson’s first newspaper, “The Lake Shore Sentinel”   1909-1911

Read the Story

Editor’s note:  The Methodist story is an excerpt taken from a book I am compiling on the formative years of Polson, Montana, from the 1909-1911 issues of The Lake Shore Sentinel, which claimed to be the first newspaper on the Flathead Reservation, and was in existence from September, 1909 to September, 1911.  This is not a complete or historical account, only a compilation of facts as previously recorded.